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Vanquish
Vanquish (ヴァンキッシュ Vankisshu) is a third-person shooter video game developed by Platinum Games and published by Sega for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 video game consoles. Having been in development since 2007, the game was released in October 2010. The game was created by the team previously responsible for Resident Evil 4, including lead director Shinji Mikami. Vanquish is notable for introducing several innovations to the 3D shooter genre, including a fast-paced style of gameplay reminiscent of 2D bullet hell shooters, and a popular sliding-boost mechanic. Plot Vanquish takes place in the near future where planet Earth's human population has grown so rapidly that nations of people around the globe are fighting for the scarce available resources. The United States of America has attempted to alleviate its own energy problems by launching an O'Neill Cylinder space station harboring a solar energy-driven generator to provide them with an alternative source of fuel from the sun. However, the government of the Russian Federation on Earth has been overthrown in a coup d'état by ultra-nationalist forces calling themselves the Order of the Russian Star. Russian forces capture this space station and divert its harvested solar energy into a blast wave that devastates San Francisco, aiming to force the U.S. into a total and unconditional surrender. The main antagonist, known as Victor Zaitsev, demands that the American government surrender or he will choose New York City as his next target. The President of the United States of America, Elizabeth Winters, refuses to back down in the face of such a threat. Instead, she takes Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Burns, a decorated war veteran, and puts him in charge of a newly-commissioned task force called Bravo Company. This team consists of several space-faring special forces, veteran Marines, and the remnants of the defending U.S. forces on board the space station. On top of that, she also gives them the game's protagonist and playable character, Sam Gideon (voiced by Gideon Emery in the English version.) Sam is a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) researcher equipped with an Augmented Reaction Suit (ARS), a cutting-edge mechanical suit outfitted with a vast array of functions, including jet boosters attached to both arms and legs. He is armed with an experimental Battlefield Logic ADaptable Electronic Weapons System (BLADE), which is capable of scanning any existing weapon and then transforming into a perfect replica of that weapon. Its ability to store three scans at a time means that at any given time the BLADE can shapeshift between three completely different guns. On the surface, this mission gives DARPA the perfect chance to test out the new ARS on the Russians. But both the President and the Secretary of Defense give Sam classified orders to rescue a scientist named Dr. Francois Candide, who was working on-site when the station was attacked. The Doctor has decided to take matters into his own hands and is trying to disable the array himself before it can be used to attack another city. Gameplay Players control Sam Gideon, a DARPA agent armed with the Augmented Reaction Suit. If the player takes too much damage, the suit will automatically enter Augmented Reality mode (AR mode), which slows down time, helping the player to avoid being killed. The player can also manually enter AR mode by holding down the target button while evading, allowing the player to target enemies easily. At any time, the player can use boosters on the suit to move quickly across the area. If the player uses AR mode or the boosters too much in a short time, the suit will overheat and will require a short period to cool down, during which Sam is less mobile. The suit will also overheat instantly if the player performs a melee attack, and certain areas will also overheat the suit. Sam's weaponry consists of the BLADE weapons system and a choice of two types of grenade. The BLADE system can store up to three weapons at a time (from a total of eight weapon types), with the player able to swap weapons if he encounters a new one. These weapons, and the grenades, can be upgraded by collecting upgrade boxes, or by collecting the same type of weapon while it has maximum ammunition. Upgrading these weapons improves their abilities, such as their maximum ammunition capacity, accuracy, and blast radius. Players can aid injured allies on the field to earn weapons, or find them in crates or weapon lockers. In Normal difficulty or higher, weapons are downgraded if the player dies. Other gameplay mechanics include the use of explosives during certain areas, commandeering enemy vehicles or turrets, the ability to use cigarettes to distract enemies, and quick time events during certain battles against larger enemies. It has also significantly improved upon the cover system, which it has been credited for taking "to the next level." In contrast to previous cover-based shooters, Vanquish has bullets and missiles coming from all directions in a manner reminiscent of bullet hell shooters and the cover is easily destructible, forcing the player character to be on the move, while the game also penalizes the player's score for the amount of time spent in cover. Its most important innovation, however, is the sliding-boost mechanic that allows the player to slide into and out of cover at high speeds (and in slow motion using bullet time),[8] acting as a defensive escape and an offensive set up, opening up new gameplay possibilities for cover-based shooters and increasing the pace significantly. The game also has a unique end credits sequence, which is interactive and plays like a rail shooter, with the lead designer Shinji Mikami being the most difficult 'enemy' to take down. Development The game's director, Shinji Mikami, stated that Vanquish's graphics were partially inspired by Casshern, a 1970s anime television series by Tatsunoko Production. Mikami also stated that the game design itself was inspired by Casshern. Mikami originally wanted to create a game just like Casshern, but with the addition of guns, since Mikami had already previously created a brawler with God Hand. However, while making Vanquish a shooter, Mikami still wanted to maintain Casshern's "feeling of speed" which is the reason he introduced the sliding-boost mechanic. Vanquish uses the Havok physics engine. The game has been in development since 2007; in January 2010, a pre-rendered video trailer was released. Atsushi Inaba produced the game. Mikami has stated that the game is being developed with the PlayStation 3 as its lead platform, commenting that it was a "great success." It is Shinji Mikami's first game under the Platinum Games brand. Critical Reception Sales The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Vanquish respectively debuted at number four (48,318 units) and number 14 (11,204 units) on Japanese sales charts during their release week. By the end of 2010, the game sold over 820,000 copies worldwide, and over 830,000 copies as of March 2011. Reviews Vanquish was widely acclaimed by critics, with many reviewers praising the game's visuals, gameplay, innovation, fast pace, and over-the-top style, though some also criticized its short length, lack of multiplayer, mediocre plot, and corny dialogue. GameTrailers gave it a 9.0, noting that it is hard to imagine the slow-motion gameplay working in multiplayer. Game Informer stated "Don't be surprised if you finish your first playthrough in four hours or less." This view was challenged by Platinum Games writer Jean Pierre Kellams and Eurogamer. Awards Vanquish has received Game of the Year awards from the Classic Game Room, Zavvi.com, and TGN Times. X360 gave it the "Best Shooter" award, and GamesRadar gave it an award for Most "Oh Shit" Moments Per Minute. IGN gave it the "Best Sci-Fi Game" award, and nominated the game for the awards of "Coolest Atmosphere", "Most Challenging", "Most Addictive Game", "Best Visuals" and "Best Blockbuster Game". GameSpot gave the game the awards for "Best Game No One Played", both the editors' award and the Readers' Choice award, and "Best Original Game Mechanic" for its rocket-sliding game mechanic, which acts as both a defensive escape and an offensive setup, opening up new gameplay possibilities for action games. GameSpot also nominated the game for the awards of "Best Shooter", "Best Sound Design", "Best Original IP", "Best Xbox 360 Game", "Best PS3 Game" and overall "Game of the Year". The game has set a new trend, with its influence seen in recent shooter games that have incorporated similar sliding-boost mechanics. Some of the games that appear to have incorporated similar mechanics include first-person shooters such as Bulletstorm, Crysis 2, and Killzone 3, and third-person shooters such as Sega's Binary Domain. Pre-order Bonuses If pre-ordered from GameStop in North America, Vanquish came with an exclusive tri-weapon download pack. Several European retailers offered free copies of Bayonetta with pre-orders of Vanquish. Links *"Vanquish Review". Gamerevolution.com. *"Vanquish Review". GameSpot.com. *"Vanquish Review - Xbox 360 Review at IGN". *Official website *Official website (Japanese) *The Perfect Weekend Game Rental Category:2010 video games Category:Most Wanted Games